The War of the Balance
by RockSunner
Summary: A sequel to the adventure game The Longest Journey. Continues the story of April Ryan.
1. At Loose Ends

The War of the Balance   
A Fan Fiction Sequel to "The Longest Journey"  
  
This story picks up where the game "The Longest Journey" leaves off. I tried  
to put in enough explanations so that someone who has never played the game  
can still read it. All major characters are the property of Ragnar Tornquist.  
  
Part I. At Loose Ends  
  
The adventure was over now, wasn't it? April Ryan watched with satisfaction  
from the blue-sand desert of the Guardian's Realm. Gordon Halloway, the new  
13th Guardian of the Balance, sat in the Tower of Balance and channeled the  
twin beams of logic and chaos to where they belonged in the twin worlds of Stark  
and Arcadia. Stark and Arcadia were worlds of technology and magic  
respectively, divided from each other long ago by wise humans working together  
with powerful alien beings called the Draic Kin (or Dragons) to prevent people  
from abusing the combined powers of science and magic. It was the Guardian's  
job to keep the worlds in balance.  
  
There was a huge personal price for being the Guardian; his mind and emotions  
would remain stored away in the World Disk for the next thousand years and the  
world he returned to would be completely different from what he left. But  
Gordon was prepared to pay that price. April at first had thought she would have  
to become the Guardian, and she had not been prepared at all. But it turned out  
that she simply had to bring together Gordon's logical half with his emotional  
half, which Jacob McAllen had split from him to create the Chaos Vortex.  
McAllen, who was actually a Draic Kin in human form, had wanted to reunite the  
two worlds by force and rule them both. But April had been able to help Gordon  
become a proper Guardian instead of McAllen's puppet. So both worlds were  
saved and she hadn't had to sacrifice her whole life to do it. Not quite.  
  
Ten days ago (Friday July 28, 2209 to be exact) April Ryan had been an ordinary  
struggling 18-year-old art student in the city of Newport whose only problems  
were finishing a painting and occasional nightmares about dragons. Then she met  
a mysterious man named Cortez who had sent her on bizarre adventures in both  
Stark and Arcadia; who had turned her life upside-down. Now she was a Shifter  
who could move between worlds, and much more than a Shifter. April didn't  
think she could return to her old life now even if she wanted to. Sinister groups  
were still after her in Stark: the McAllens's Church of the Voltec (a front for his  
Arcadian Vanguard cult), and probably the corporate police force of the  
Bokamba/Mercer Corporation. So, where to?  
  
"I can go from here to wherever I want. Stark or Arcadia? I want to find out what  
happened to my friends Emma, Charlie, Fiona, and Mickey, but I guess it'll have  
to be Arcadia first," said April.  
  
"Yeah, I like that. More chicks there, and I mean the feathered kind," said Crow,  
her talking bird friend from Arcadia.  
  
"There's another reason. I can't go back to Stark dressed like this. I look like a  
fugitive colonist in this orange-gray uniform. In fact, I _am_ a fugitive colonist.  
If the Bokamba/Mercer Company catches me they'll ship me off to Bokamba 8."  
  
"What do you mean, a fugitive colonist?"  
  
"Hmmm, how to explain? Basically, I sold myself as a slave to get passage to a  
place near the Guardian's Realm. A space station, um, a floating island in the  
sky."  
  
"So you're a runaway slave now? That's really tough."  
  
April found it incredibly easy to open a Shift to Arcadia from the Guardian's  
Realm. She and Crow went through it and came out at the edge of Riverwood just  
north of the great city of Marcuria, where she could catch sight of the battle for  
the city without being caught by the invading Tyren ogres.  
  
The thick plume of smoke was rising to the south and the sound of war cries told  
her the battle still going on. She was glad most of the people had evacuated in  
time (except for Brian Westhouse and the Fathers of the Sentinal Enclave, who  
had stayed to defend their property). There was certainly nothing good for her  
that way. She started up the road into Riverwood. She would go to her friends the  
Mole People (they preferred to call themselves the Banda), and then maybe...  
  
"Crow, you told me you saw Abnaxus heading north?"  
  
"Yeah, heading to a huge tree with other Venar in it about two miles north from  
here as the crow flies. As the Crow flies! Hee-hee, I crack myself up!" said Crow.  
He was easily amused.  
  
Abnaxus was an emissary of the Venar, a magical race that experienced time  
differently than humans. They lived in the past, present, and future all at once.  
  
"His people must have an outpost in Riverwood. I could use his advice about what  
to do next. I really wasn't expecting to have a choice. I thought I was going to be  
the 13th Guardian and have to stay in the Tower for a thousand years."  
  
"Hey, wait a second! You were going to disappear on me again?" Crow said  
angrily.  
  
"I thought I was destined to be the Guardian. I had no choice. I didn't see you..."  
  
"But what about our deal? You promised to take care of my fleas for a year if I  
fetched you water from the Well of Making!"  
  
"Crow, I'm sorry. I had a lot on my mind. I thought I was going to have to hold  
two worlds together for a thousand years. I thought I'd have to disappoint all my  
friends, that they'd think I was dead..."  
  
"But the fact is you made me a promise you had no intention to keep! Some  
friend!"  
  
"I'll keep that promise now," protested April.  
  
"You made me fill my beak with magic water that could have killed me, fly down  
and drop it into that horrible scary nothing, and then after all that you were going  
to go away and abandon me in the desert for 1000 years?"  
  
"I'd have sent you back to Arcadia after I became Guardian, Crow," April said,  
but shuddered as she thought, "Would I really have been able to remember to do  
that with my soul in cold storage?"  
  
"I'm really sorry, Crow. I did take advantage of you. Forgive me, please?"  
  
"Not this time, not again. I'm out of here to find some fluffy little chickadee for  
consolation. Next time you think about piping me up with your magic flute, think  
again!" Crow flew off in a huff.  
  
"Crow! Please come back, Crow!" called April, but it was no use.  
  
--------  
April's Diary: August 7, 2209 Monday evening  
  
I'm at the Banda camp by the fire. Ben-bandu and the others gave me a hero's  
welcome but I'm not feeling very heroic. I keep regretting the things I did for this  
mission. I got a navigator's job for Tun Liac and magical wind for Captain  
Nebevay and then accidentally wrecked their ship, I hid the truth from my  
friends in Stark and got Emma shot, and if I'd become the Guardian I might have  
left Crow to die in the desert. It isn't so great to be what they call a Wave of  
destiny when the Wave leaves wrecked lives behind. Now Crow hates me,  
Captain Nebevay hates me, Tun Liac hates me, and probably so do Fiona, Mickey,  
Emma, and Charlie...  
  
At least the Banda and the Elder Mole are still my friends. I'll sleep here tonight  
but definitely NOT in the Spirit Dig! No "Bak-Baar" spirit dreams for me  
tonight. I wouldn't mind seeing dream-Charlie again, but I'm definitely not up  
for another round with my dark-side dream-April.  
  
I've been thinking about Charlie a lot lately, ever since the dream-spirit told me  
that he loved me. I didn't think I felt that way about him at first but now I think  
I've started to. He's always been so kind and great to talk to at the Café.  
  
I thought for a while I might be in love with Cortez. (Is he still alive? I hope so!)  
Last time I saw Cortez, he and McAllen were fighting and they turned into  
dragons right before my eyes as they fell off the top of the MTI Building! I know  
I'm actually a dragon myself but I'm still in denial about that, and anyway Cortez  
must be thousands of years older than me...  
  
I still feel human. I WANT to be human, not some kind of alien monster. I want  
a normal human life and Charlie could be part of that. I kept pushing my feelings  
down while I had a job to do but now I wish I could see him again. Maybe it isn't  
too late. I'll get a change of clothes somewhere, Shift back there, sneak past all  
the goons from the Vanguard and Bokamba/Mercer, find him, and get him to  
forgive me somehow. Heck, I've done tons of harder things than this last week. In  
the morning I'll ask the Elder Mole to help me find the Venar. Abnaxus may be  
able to get me some clothes.  
-----------  
  
April decided to try to talk to Crow again. She got out her flute from her  
Dimensional Pocket. The Pocket was a technological marvel that her rich friend  
Sarah had given her for her 18th birthday four months ago. April had no idea  
how it worked but somehow it could hold a huge number of small objects without  
a bulge. April wore it all the time, attached to her clothes or tucked into her  
panties. It was a safe place for her credit card in the big city and it had been a  
lifesaver on the journey. She'd been able to carry all sorts of useful things and  
keep her hands free.  
  
It was funny about the flute. April was pretty sure it had started out as a plain,  
ordinary flute. She kept using to call Crow and it kept bringing him to her from  
farther and farther away, from places where he couldn't have heard it, even to the  
Guardian's Realm itself. It had to be her doing somehow. An Arcadian innkeeper  
had said that April was an Artisan, able to shape magic by the force of will alone.  
Could an Artisan just use something, will it to work, and make it so? Maybe.  
She'd once used a common pocket calculator to defeat an evil alchemist.  
  
"Ok, let's try it. I hope this works, I hope this works..." thought April, and she  
played the little summoning tune on the flute.  
  
Crow appeared in a blue flash, but he flew high and called down to her.  
  
"Hey, I told you not to call me anymore! What do you want, more fetching and  
carrying?"  
  
"Look Crow, no matter how you feel about me, I promised to pluck your fleas and  
I'll do it," April called up to him.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"A promise is a promise. That's the reason I called you."  
  
"Well, if you're really willing, I think I picked up a case of lice from the wren I  
met this afternoon. And she seemed so clean and innocent, too... All right, I'll  
come down. I can't stay mad at you."  
  



	2. The Dig and the Tree

Part II. The Dig and the Tree  
  
In the morning April met with the Elder Mole. The little furry humanoid was  
sitting in his hammock-chair as he always did.  
  
"Welcome, April Bandu-embata! How goes the quest?" asked the Elder Mole.  
  
"All done. The world's all saved and everything," April said with a grin.  
  
"Well have the spirits named you Bandu-embata, she among the little ones who  
seeks and finds. You have fulfilled the first half of the prophecy and saved our  
world," said the Elder. "The second half is that you will destroy it. You are our  
hope and despair."  
  
"I hope I can skip that part," said April.  
  
"It is all of a piece, I fear," said the Elder, shaking his mole-like head.  
  
"Do you have any news of the battle in Marcuria? I have some friends there.  
Things should be better now the Chaos Vortex is gone."  
  
"Late last night while you slept men of the Ayrede army came through the forest.  
We heard them say the Chaos Vortex vanished yesterday and they began to drive  
the Tyren out."  
  
"That's good."  
  
"Then in a flash of blue light a row of armored men appeared, armed with wands  
that fired destruction on them. The men who came were fleeing them."  
  
"Not good. Did the... wands fire blue beams with a kind of whooshing sound?"  
  
"Yes, so they said."  
  
"Then I know who they are. They're the Shifter agents that the Vanguard's been  
working to make. They have weapons from Stark called blasters."  
  
"If the Vanguard can make Shifters, things are very grave. The prophecies speak of  
a War of the Balance, fought in Arcadia with weapons of science from Stark. Even  
the Guardian will not be able to prevent the triumph of Chaos."  
  
"Oh no! Do they say anything about how to stop it?"  
  
"That is all I know. The Venar prophets may know more."  
  
"Do you know of a huge tree in Riverwood where the Venar have an outpost?"  
  
"We know all the great trees from their roots in the soil. We could not tell you the  
way above the ground, but if you join with the singers to the earth in the Dig we  
can tunnel you there."  
  
"I'm not fond of dark damp tunnels, but if it'll get me there..."  
  
"Not fond of tunnels? How strange. They are a sweet home to the Banda."  
  
"To each his own, I guess."  
  
"Farewell, April Bandu-embata! May you always have soil between your toes!"  
  
"You too, Elder."  
  
April called to Crow, sleeping by the fireside. "Wakey-wakey Crow! I'm going to  
the Venar. I'll be tunneling there underground."  
  
"Huh? Underground! Count me out! I'm not a worm. I eat worms!"  
  
"That's OK. I'll pipe you there when I arrive at the Venar's tree."  
  
"No respect. A Crow gets no respect. Just call me in the evening. I'll find plenty to  
do in the forest."  
  
April crawled into the Dig and found that her digging party was Ben-bandu and  
his brother. They had insisted on the honor because April had once saved  
Ben-bandu's brother from the carnivorous Gribbler. The Banda were a lot  
smaller than humans. They stood upright in the tunnel and walked comfortably  
while April found it a tight fit.  
  
"W-will you be all right, April?" asked little Ben-bandu shyly.  
  
"I'll manage," said April. In a short while, she was regretting it. ". This is so not  
pleasant. I'm getting dirt in my hair, dirt under my fingernails, and dirt in my  
boots. 'May you always have dirt between your toes' is coming true for me."  
  
But the tunneling itself was fascinating. Instead of digging by hand, the Banda  
were singing to the earth, gently asking it to move for them. The song was  
haunting and touching at the same time. And it was effective. The earth simply  
slid away before them and packed itself to the sides of the tunnel. The song was so  
moving that April found herself singing along with them, memorizing the words.  
  
At one point Ben-bandu stopped and picked up a knobby root. He passed it back to  
April.  
  
"I'd like you to have this, April, if you want it," said Ben-bandu. "Humans soak it  
in water to make a sleeping drink. Once you told me you'd give anything for a good  
night's sleep, so p-please take it as a token of gratitude."  
  
"Thank you, Ben-bandu," said April, touched.  
  
After a very long, exhausting crawl April finally emerged at the base of an  
enormous banyan-like tree. Ladders went up to holes in the trees at three levels.  
Several Venar, with large heads and skins like brown-stained wood, bustled and  
waddled about.  
  
"This is the place. Thank you so much, both of you," said April to the Bandu. They  
smiled shyly and gave her the Bandu blessing again and popped back into the  
tunnel.  
  
April went up to the closest Venar and asked, "Do you know where I can find  
Abnaxus?"  
  
It simply looked at her for an instant as if puzzled, then hurried off. She asked  
several other others and got the same reaction.  
  
"Hmmm," thought April, "Abnaxus said that he was the only one who had learned  
how to deal with people. They don't experience time like we do, so they must not  
understand me. I'd better just yell for him." She drew breath to yell.  
  
"Greetings April-Ryan," said a voice behind her. She whirled and saw it was  
Abnaxus.  
  
"Oh, there you are! I've been asking all over for you, but no-one would answer  
me!"  
  
"Sorry April-Ryan. My people will seem rude to you. They do not comprehend  
those who flow with time."  
  
"How did you know I was here?"  
  
"In a possible future you called my name, so I hear you."  
  
"I'm glad I caught you. I was afraid you'd have gone home across the Border  
Mountains by now."  
  
"My people are making this place to meet me, to be together in the time of  
darkness. We can see only small glimpses of moments because of the veil of  
Chaos. When it is cleared and time opens up again I will return to the home of my  
people."  
  
Abnaxus led the way to a hollow high up in one of the trees. Another Venar  
bustled out of the room just as they arrived.  
  
"April-Ryan, my helper Abbinus will leave the package of things you needed," He  
pointed to a bundle wrapped in large, flat leaves on the table.  
  
"Things I'll need... I wonder what they could be?" asked April.  
  
Abnaxus opened the package. Inside was a set of boys' farmer clothing: a shirt,  
pants, and sandals. It would do to get around in Stark. There was also a pair of  
wooden goggles with narrow eye slits and a small oil lantern. She put all the items  
in the Pocket. She'd learned to scrounge everything she could get that might come  
in handy.  
  
"The clothes are good, but I wonder why I need the rest? It reminds me of weird  
things I kept finding last week in Stark. Things showed up just before I needed  
them. There was this punctured rubber duck and somehow it got patched. I needed  
the duck later and I needed the patch somewhere else. My gold ring, which should  
have been in a box in my room, ended up under the couch so I had it on me when I  
needed it."  
  
"It would be easy to explain if a Venar will be helping you. But there are no Venar  
in Stark. There is not enough magic there for us to live."  
  
"I guess it's just one more mystery in this crazy life of mine. By the way, have you  
heard of the War of the Balance?"  
  
"The War of the Balance, yes. The veil of Chaos hides the future but there is one  
thing in the prophecies. Unless the young Draic Kin Mother grows up and will join  
the battle the forces of Chaos have won."  
  
"The new Mother is my sister. But she's just a hatchling! I saw her hatch a few  
days ago. How can she grow up in time to help?"  
  
"She needs help from the old Mother."  
  
"But Mother is dead. She passed away just before the egg hatched."  
  
"There was a way. A legend you will tell me you have read," said Abnaxus. "The  
Silver Spear of Gorimon."  
  
"The Silver Spear of Gorimon! Yes, I've read it. It's the story of a wicked  
Bakshevan emperor who attacked the White Mother with a magic spear because  
he wanted the hand in marriage of the Mother's unborn daughter. Her blood  
cursed his land. It turned into a huge desert and he and his palace are buried in the  
sand. But what does it have to do with anything now?"  
  
"If the story will be true, part of the life-essence of the Mother was trapped in the  
spear, allowing her to be harmed by a human weapon. That life-essence will help  
the new Mother to grow. You must go across the southern ocean to the desert of  
Ch'angagriel and find the Spear."  
  
"So I've got to go across the ocean, into a desert, dig up a spear which dozens of  
adventurers tried to find, find my baby sister who has flown off  
who-knows-where and give the spear to her?"  
  
"Yes, April-Ryan."  
  
"Another prophecy and another quest. This is so typical. Why can't I have a  
normal life like a regular 18-year-old?"  
  
"You are known to the Venar prophets as Kan-ang-la, the small seed that grew  
into a tall tree."  
  
"I'll do it," she sighed, "and I'll probably like it, too. I think I'm a quest addict. But  
how am I going to get across the ocean to Chagaggle, that desert? I don't dare try  
for a ship again after what happened last time."  
  
"The island empire of Baksheva is far south of here across the sea. I do not see  
clearly how, but there is a way you have found."  
  
"How will I find the Spear once I get there?"  
  
"Your Draic Kin blood will call to it, and it to you"  
  
"One more question. What was your prophecy about the Kan-ang-la, again?"  
  
"The Kan-ang-la will bring order to Chaos, only to release Chaos on the innocent.  
You will restore the Balance, only to finally break it."  
  
"Sorry I asked."  
  
---------  
April's Diary: August 8, 2209 Tuesday afternoon  
  
Now I have the clothes I need to Shift over to Stark. I really want to check on  
Emma and Charlie and find out how hot the situation is there for me. But I've got  
to be REALLY CAREFUL not get them into any more danger!!  
  
These prophecies of doom are getting to me. I'd be less worried if I hadn't fulfilled  
the good half already. Maybe "bring order to Chaos only to release Chaos on the  
innocent" means what I did when I trapped the Chaos Vortex in the Talisman of  
Balance and later released it on Gordon Halloway. That made him whole again so  
he could be Guardian. But I don't see how breaking the Balance and destroying the  
world could be anything good. Maybe if I do this quest I'll screw up so bad it'll end  
the world? But probably if I decided to do nothing and let Chaos win the War of  
the Balance, that'd end it. Prophecy's gotcha no matter what.  
  
If I can just talk to Charlie I'll tell him everything and maybe he can help me make  
sense of it all. I need a real human being to talk to, not just these magical guys who  
talk in riddles and prophecies.  
----------  
  
April piped for Crow and told him she was Shifting to Stark. He declined to come  
along to the dangerous high-tech place, saying that he'd "watch her back" from  
Arcadia.  
  



	3. Help from Friends

Part III. Help from Friends  
  
"The Shift has to be someplace that the Vanguard won't be watching," April  
thought. One place they might not think of was inside Sarah's apartment, since  
Sarah would be at work this time of day. April was getting more confident she  
could go anywhere she'd been before that she could picture. She Shifted.  
  
"Uggh! That was rougher than I thought. I haven't been here in quite a while,"  
thought April. She had stayed with Sarah for a few days when she first arrived in  
Newport. Then they'd had a big fight and Sarah kicked her out. That's when  
April met Charlie at the Fringe Café and he told her about the Border House  
where she could rent a room from Fiona and Mickey.  
  
First order of business was to check Sarah's FACT terminal. Unlike the one in  
the Border House it had a working voice interface.  
  
"Computer, give me police bulletins on April Ryan."  
  
"Thank you," said the syrupy voice of the Free Access Terminal. "April Ryan:  
wanted for questioning about the disappearance of the Jacob McAllen, leader of  
the Church of the Voltec. Wanted for breaking into the Metro West Police  
Station and removing a classified data cube. Wanted for entering the mid-level  
status zone with a black-market false identification card. Wanted for breach of  
colony contract with Bokamba/Mercer. Considered extremely dangerous. This  
data has been brought to you by Bokamba/Mercer and Bingo! Cola, makers of the  
world's favorite soft drinks and handguns. Bingo! It's not just the best cola, it's  
the only cola!"  
  
"Ouch!" said April.  
  
"For all your pain needs consider Rapture Revisited, by SweetDreams  
Pharmaceuticals. Twice the high at half the price," droned the computer.  
  
April cut in with a new question. "Computer, give me current medical  
information for Emma Trevors."  
  
Luckily for April patient privacy was a thing of the past, at least for  
lower-income patients.  
  
"Thank you. Emma Trevors was admitted to Goren General Hospital for a  
blaster wound on August 6, 2209, now in Room 991. This data has been brought  
to you by..."  
  
April stopped listening and went to Sarah's bedroom to think. The situation in  
Stark was hot, red-hot. She hadn't been as clever at covering her tracks as she  
thought and now a new life in Arcadia looked like her only option. But she was  
still determined to talk to Emma and Charlie before she left, if she could. She  
decided to go everywhere by Shifting rather than risk a genetic scan for the  
subway that might set off alarms.  
  
April had been to the emergency room of Goren General with a sprained ankle  
once after tripping on the stairs at Border House. After waiting several hours  
because of the huge backlog of gang shootings and drug overdoses, she had given  
up and gone home. She had been sitting across from a supply closet while she  
waited, and several times she had looked inside while it was opened. She hadn't  
been inside but it should still be possible to Shift there. Art had helped her focus  
her Shifts before. She got a piece of paper and a pencil and sketched the waiting  
room and the closet until she felt the connection. She Shifted first to Arcadia to  
where she had left, rested several minutes, then stared at the paper and Shifted  
again. The effort was less using the paper.  
  
In the closet, hanging from a hook, was a white nurse's coat. She put this on and,  
trying to look confident, stepped out of the closet and proceeded around the  
corner to the main elevators.  
  
She found Room 991 quickly. She spotted Emma in a bed in the corner and  
walked slowly over to her. Emma had bandages wrapped around her chest. She  
didn't look great but it wasn't as bad as April had imagined.  
  
"Emma, don't yell or anything. Keep your voice down. It's me," whispered April.  
  
"April!! Where have you been? They haven't caught you?" gasped Emma.  
  
"No, and I don't plan on letting them. I just had to see how you were. I'm so sorry  
you got caught in the middle of this," said April.  
  
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? You were on 'Corporation's  
Most Wanted' on the Screen last night," whispered Emma.  
  
"Fame at last."  
  
"It isn't funny, April. You're in a whole world of trouble."  
  
"Only half a world, fortunately."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"You lied to Charlie and me! We asked you what was going on and you fed us a  
bunch of bull. You said you hadn't done anything criminal, when you had broken  
into the police station and stolen records just that afternoon!"  
  
"I was going to tell you more the next day, the whole story. But something came  
up and I had to leave," said April.  
  
She'd had to leave all right. She'd accidentally opened a Shift in her closet while  
she was sleeping and it pulled her into Arcadia. She couldn't control her Shifts  
back then and it took days to get home. By the time she returned, Gordon  
Halloway (the evil, emotionless version) had traced her and he was threatening  
her friends with his power-armored Vanguard agents. When April returned to  
Border House the situation escalated and Emma was shot. So was Zack, the creep  
across the hall who had betrayed her to the Vanguard. She wasn't as sorry about  
him as about Emma.  
  
"It's all the fault of that Cortez!" said Emma. "He's some kind of terrorist, isn't  
he? They said you were working with someone to kidnap Jacob McAllen. They  
said you lured McAllen to the roof of the IMF building and then someone must  
have taken him away in a hover car. April, how could you have changed so much  
in such a short time?"  
  
"You don't know the whole story. McAllen is really bad news. He's, like, out to  
take over the world. I was drafted to help stop him. But I didn't kidnap him or  
anything."  
  
"I know he's bad news! His creepy employee Halloway had me shot! But why are  
you the one trying to save the world? Are you on Rapture? I've heard it can cause  
delusions of grandeur."  
  
"No drugs, I swear. But if that's what you want to believe..."  
  
"I believe you. But still don't understand. How did you get away from Border  
House after they shot me? There were guards all over the place."  
  
"I got out my window and jumped into the canal -- which is more like an open  
sewer. I got out downstream. Then a little old lady opened her door to me and hid  
me from the Vanguard agents."  
  
"Really? Sounds pretty lame to me."  
  
"It's a bit more complicated than that but I don't have time to tell you all the  
details. You wouldn't believe them anyway."  
  
It was a _lot_ more complicated than that. April had gotten out by way of the  
canal, all right. But she had taken an invisibility potion that came from an  
alchemist's laboratory to elude the agents. As for the old lady, that was even  
weirder. A mysterious door near the Fringe Café had suddenly opened and April  
found herself Shifted to a cozy cottage with a fireplace. The old woman had  
introduced herself as Lady Alvane and said the place was her home, the House of  
All Worlds. Like all the Arcadian mystics April had met, Lady Alvane delivered  
all sorts of predictions and advice about April's future. April would have to make  
great sacrifices and there would be a pain that would remain in her heart forever.  
She told her that Emma wasn't dead (as April had feared) but was in the hospital.  
She told April that her friends were angry with her for not telling them the truth  
but to let them help her. April wasn't about to ask them for any help that would  
put them in any more danger, but there was one thing they could help with...  
  
"Emma, what do you really think about me? Am I a monster?"  
  
"April, no matter what you've done, I know your heart's good. You're an  
inspiration to me. I don't know where you've gotten all the courage, the guts you  
have. I wish I had your kind of strength. If you think you can save the world, I say  
-- go for it. You can't make it any worse than it is now."  
  
"I hope not. Cross your fingers for me. By the way, do you know what happened  
to Fiona and Mickey?"  
  
"They came by to see me yesterday. They're closing down the Border House.  
Fiona is going back to England and Mickey says she's going with her. They're  
really a devoted couple in spite of how different they both are. The Happy  
Hedonist and Iron Woman -- opposites attract."  
  
"What about Charlie?"  
  
"I was wondering when you'd get around to him! He's still working at the Fringe  
Café and hanging around outside Border House, hoping you'll come back. He says  
the Vanguard goons have gone for now. I don't know what's up with that."  
  
"They've lost their leadership and that's probably thrown them into a mess."  
  
"Be _really_ careful if you try to see him. I wouldn't if I were you. The Vanguard  
may be gone for the moment but there's still the police and Bokamba/Mercer  
after you."  
  
"I've got to try. I have a place to hide out if it gets too dangerous."  
  
"April, be careful. I'm so scared for you..."  
  
April gave her a big hug and then found a deserted corridor where she could Shift  
back to Arcadia.  
  
The best place to find Charlie at this time of day was the Fringe Café. People  
might recognize her there, so she put on the slit goggles. She turned the nurse's  
coat inside out and put it back on. Now she looked either like someone trying to  
set a new fashion trend or a druggie.  
  
All this Shifting was wearing her out. She decided she would need to do a couple  
more drawings. She sketched the bathroom in the Café on the back of the paper.  
For good measure she drew the Venar's tree to help her return.  
  
April Shifted. She was nearly exhausted but she arrived there safely. She came  
out and stepped up to the bar where Charlie was working. He was a 20-year-old  
bartender with ambitions to be a dancer, tall and dark-skinned with a ponytail,  
with a trace of a Jamaican accent.  
  
"Could you take a break so I can talk to you in private for a little while?" April  
asked.  
  
His eyes widened when he saw her, but he gave no outward sign that might give  
her away. He nodded.  
  
"Meet you in the alley behind the Café in a few minutes," she said. "I'll go first so  
we aren't seen leaving together."  
  
The alley wasn't the most clean-smelling place for a meeting but it was at least  
private for the moment.  
  
"Have you been OK, Charlie?"  
  
"April-girl, I've been so worried about you. I've been fine. The police asked some  
questions but I didn't tell them anything. I couldn't have, because you didn't tell  
me. Don't you know you can trust your friends?"  
  
"I do, Charlie. And I'll tell you everything now." She gave him the whole story:  
Cortez, Arcadia, dragons, and all.  
  
"Do you believe me?" she asked at the end of the story.  
  
"I have to, because I believe in you," said Charlie. "I've seen weird things  
happening, too. There was that night a little creature appeared in place of the  
jukebox, playing a pipe. And today I saw a strange-looking guy appear out of  
nowhere beside the Café, look around for a moment, and disappear again. Like  
those Shifter agents you said the Vanguard is cloning, I guess."  
  
"Oh-oh, that means the Vanguard is still looking for me, just keeping a low  
profile so we'll drop our guard. I don't dare stay here much longer. Just one thing  
I'd like to know before I go."  
  
"Yes, girl?"  
  
"Now you know I'm n-not human does that change how you feel about me?"  
  
"April, you're the most human person I know. I care about you more than ever.  
You're a real hero, you know?"  
  
"There's another mission I'm supposed to do in Arcadia, to help stop a war. If it  
works out there's a chance things will be peaceful there. It's a beautiful place,  
Charlie. Not like this trashed-out world. Maybe we could... start a new life there.  
There's nothing left for me here except jail or the colonies."  
  
"I'd do it in a flash, April-girl. And I bet they have a bigger market for dancers  
since there's no Screens."  
  
"I've heard it's really hard for a non-Shifter to get across. It took Brian  
Westhouse years and it nearly killed him. It's easier through the Guardian's  
Realm. I'll find some way, I promise. But there's one thing that worries me."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"The prophecies were on my side before. Now they're against me. And  
prophecies are real there, Charlie. They come true."  
  
"April, you just do what you know in your heart is right. Don't worry about  
prophecies -- let them take care of themselves."  
  
"Ok, Charlie, thanks. Just knowing you support me helps a lot."  
  
They embraced and shared a long kiss. She let him go and watched him walk  
around the corner back to the Café.  
  
Suddenly, a man appeared at each end of the alley, out of nowhere. Vanguard  
Shifter agents! Each had a blaster pointed at her and they advanced towards her  
steadily.  
  
She tried to Shift and found she was so drained that it wasn't working.  
  
"Come on, you can do it!" she thought desperately.  
  
She grabbed out the drawing of the Venar's tree and with the last of her energy  
she Shifted there.  
  
But the two agents Shifted right along with her, following her path. They raised  
their weapons. She stared at them hopelessly, knowing she had no more energy to  
Shift again.  
  
Suddenly Abnaxus and Abbinus popped out from behind trees, each behind one  
of the agents. They held large wooden clubs and they struck the men down before  
they knew anyone was there.  
  
"In the nick of time!" said April.  
  
"Before time nicked," said Abnaxus. "We see this future for you and are  
prepared."  
  
-----------  
April's Diary: August 8, 2209 Tuesday night  
  
I'm sooo tired I can't write much tonight. But I feel a lot better after talking to  
Emma and Charlie. Like that song from the Middle Ages I heard one time, "I get  
by with a little help from my friends."  
  
Tomorrow I'm getting started on the new quest. I'll have to figure out how to get  
to Baksheva without a ship. I have an idea how to get part way there, at least.  
Maybe I can get some help from some other friends there.  
  
The Shifter agents are dead. I didn't think they hit them that hard. It could have  
been a self-destruct that the Vanguard put in to prevent their capture. Such  
NICE people. I wanted to send the blasters to help the army but Abnaxus said it  
would increase Chaos, so we'll destroy them. There's no way to recharge them  
here, anyway.  
-----------  



	4. Air and Sea

Part IV. Air and Sea  
  
On Wednesday morning April was rested and ready to implement her plan. This  
was going to be a long Shift and April wanted to do it just right. The Venar had  
thoughtfully provided a paint set. She painted the beach of the island of Alais  
with all its yellows and greens.  
  
For her Stark transfer point she went the Hope Street Cathedral, where Father  
Raul worked. She might be able to get a quick word with him. He was not only a  
Catholic priest but also a Sentinal Ministrum. He once explained to her that  
protecting the Balance and worshipping God was not mutually exclusive.  
  
The place had been trashed, with the glass broken, garbage strewn around, and  
"Voltec" spray-painted on the pews. There was no sign of Father Raul. The  
Vanguard was attacking openly now. Hope Street had lost its last hope. She  
quickly focused on the painting and Shifted to Alais. Then she piped to Crow to  
bring him to the island.  
  
Alais was as beautiful as ever. She descended into a cave she had found where the  
Maerum and Alatiens used to live together and were starting to again, thanks to  
some peacemaking on her part.  
  
As she came down she heard loud shouts and squabbling among three Alatiens  
on the shore and two Maerum in the water.  
  
"Waterstiller," called the nearest Maerum to her. "The Wingdemons are eating  
all of the fish!"  
  
"Windbringer," an Alatien said angrily, "The Wettails are taking the glowing  
tanyenn plants to their own lairs instead of leaving them here to attract fish for  
all!"  
  
"Why should we leave the tanyenn here when they get all the fish?"  
  
"Why don't they leave the tanyenn alone until there are enough fish gathered for  
us all?"  
  
"Hold on," said April, "Talk to each other and you can settle things. Don't talk to  
me."  
  
"But the prophecy said the Waterstiller would deliver us from strife."  
  
"The prophecy said the Windbringer would bring us a new and happier age."  
  
"Yeah, but I never promised you a tanyenn garden. Your two species have been at  
war for decades. You're not going to get harmony instantly. And cool it with the  
racial slurs. It's Maerum and Alatiens, not Wettails and Wingdemons."  
  
"Yes, Waterstiller."  
  
"Yes, Windbringer."  
  
"I have to talk to your sleeping god again to see if I can hitch another ride with  
the Dark People," said April to the Maerum.  
  
Once again April descended to the depths of the Sea of Songs. The  
water-breathing polyp the Maerum had given her was still working well. She  
entered the presence of the Blue of the Kin. The enormous eye was tight shut.  
  
"Wake up! I need to talk with you!"  
  
The eye opened and glared at her.  
  
"I wish to sleep until the Day of Ascension, when we and the Maerum and the  
Alatiens will leave this place," rumbled the giant Draic Kin. "Go away, noisy  
little one."  
  
"I know now what I am," said April. "As your Kin, I ask your help."  
  
"You know nothing of what you are. You must accept to truly know."  
  
"Yeah, when I first heard I was a Draic Kin I didn't want to face it. I thought it  
would be good to check out of the world for a thousand years. That's like what  
you're doing, sleeping down here all the time. Don't you care about anyone but  
yourself?"  
  
"It is too painful to involve myself with humans."  
  
"Sure, it can be painful sometimes, but I won't hide my head in the sand like  
you!"  
  
"Leave me alone to sleep!"  
  
"Not until you call the Dark People to give me a ride in their flying ship to  
Baksheva. I must get the Silver Spear of Gorimon."  
  
"The Spear! It is a cursed thing that kills Draic Kin."  
  
"It's the only thing that will help win the War of the Balance and save the worlds  
from Chaos."  
  
"On your head be it! Go back to the island and a ship will come for you."   
  
-----------  
April's Diary: August 10, 2209 Wednesday evening  
  
Me and my big mouth! This is SO not hospitable. The flight has taken hours and  
no one has spoken to me the whole time. This isn't the same ship as the one I was  
in last time and they aren't nearly as friendly, if you can call last time friendly. I  
guess they all know Blue disapproves of this trip. I've had to huddle in one place  
the whole time with shadows all around.  
  
On the plus side, I talked more with the Alatiens while I was waiting and heard  
more of their stories. I also heard that Neema and Isam are betrothed now, and  
that Sa'ena is going to school more and is helping the other students instead of  
having to play by herself all the time. I'm glad.  
  
I asked the Maerum about how they got air into the Breathing House where they  
took captives from the surface. It turns out they used the same blue polyps that  
let me breathe under water. The polyps take in water and turn it to air. I asked if  
they would patch the wrecked ship as best they could and put a lot of polyps in  
there. I don't know if it'll work, but maybe we can raise the ship. I owe it to  
Captain Nebevey to try.  
-----------  



	5. The Spear

Part V. The Spear  
  
April entered the Bakshevan port city of Monterba on Thursday morning. It was a  
hot, crowded, noisy bazaar of a place. It wasn't easy finding a guide to take her  
through the desert to the ruins of Gorimon, and she had to pawn the Talisman of  
Balance to raise the money. It wasn't likely she would need it again now that the  
Chaos Vortex was gone.  
  
The guides were two Dolmaris, a brother and a sister, named Bendigo and  
Genhura Saldine. They had a troop of four Elgwan, which were desert beasts with  
hides like sand turtles. Elgwan had short legs that ran well on the sand, and were  
best known for their ability to find water from any distance. April found their  
bouncing gait a rough ride. The goggles with narrow eye slits were very handy  
against the bright sun.  
  
"Bendigo, have you taken adventurers out to Gorimon before?" said April.  
  
"Oh yes, yes, over thirty times," replied Bendigo.  
  
"And back again?" asked April.  
  
"Yes, yes, that too, about three times," said Bendigo.  
  
"Why the difference?"  
  
"Many venture into the ruins, but few return to the light of day," said Genhura.  
  
"Oh, gee. That's so not encouraging."  
  
Later, she asked them, "I've heard of Dolmari all over the place. There was an  
innkeeper named Benrine Salmin in the Northlands, and there are some in Ge'en.  
Is this the original country of the Dolmari?"  
  
"Yes, yes, many moved from the Southlands to other lands after the Drought."  
  
"There really was a Drought? This wasn't always a desert? I wondered if the legend  
of the Spear just explained something that was always there."  
  
"No, no, the Drought happened 18 years and four months ago."  
  
"An odd coincidence," thought April. "That's about when I was born."  
  
As they journeyed out into the desert, April became aware of a cry in the distance.  
  
"Do you hear that? Someone calling, 'Daughter'," said April.  
  
"No, no, I hear nothing," said Genhura.  
  
"It's coming from that way. I get a strong feeling the ruins of Gorimon are in that  
direction," said April, pointing right.  
  
"No, no, we are heading directly for Gorimon," said Bendigo, quickly.  
  
April became suspicious as the day's journey kept getting farther from the cry she  
could feel inside. That night, she got out of the bedroll and sneaked close to the  
tent where she could hear the two talking.  
  
"She knows something is wrong," said Genhura.  
  
"No, no, I don't think so," said Bendigo. "She doesn't know a thing about the  
desert. She'll suspect nothing until we are in sight of the towers of Port Altaban  
and by then it will be too late."  
  
"How much do you think she will fetch in the slave market there?" asked  
Genhura.  
  
"Only one thousand aren, I think. She is too skinny and will cost much food to  
fatten to pleasing plumpness for a master's bed."  
  
"Brother, you underestimate her value. I have some Seer training and I sense  
magic potential in her. You should ask for five thousand aren."  
  
"If she has powers perhaps we should secure her more carefully."  
  
"Where could she go? She can't get far without directions. She would leave tracks  
in the desert we could easily follow on our swift Elgwan."  
  
April felt sick disgust at the betrayal. She had to get away! She grabbed a water  
bottle from the camp supplies and was ready to get out. The track issue was no  
problem. She Shifted to a back alley in Stark, then back to the point on the trail  
where she first heard the cry. Let them try to follow _that_ jump!  
  
She began walking towards the direction of the call she could hear inside, louder  
and louder as she got closer. She walked through the night and reached the ruins  
just as the sun was beginning to come up. She stopped at a point where the cries  
were the loudest. It was a large sand dune with chunks of ruined marble columns  
sticking up in all directions.  
  
She didn't have anything to dig with but the song the Banda sang came to her  
mind. She tried to remember it and to sing it as they did. Whether she actually  
succeeded in singing the same way she was never certain, but her Artisan ability  
had the same effect. The mound of sand stirred and moved out of the way, reveling  
a buried passage. It extended deep; the steps went down and down. April got out  
her oil lantern and lit it (it had a built-in flint lighter).  
  
April walked down the acrid-smelling corridor. Outside the small cone of light  
from her lantern there was pitch darkness. As she walked through a ruined marble  
corridor she notice strange regular marks scratched on the wall. There were even,  
vertical lines grouped in sets of five.  
  
"It's looks like someone counting the days, like in an old movie. 'The Count of  
Monte Frisco,' or something like that."  
  
She looked up and down the wall. The lines went on for a great distance.  
  
"If those are days... No, couldn't be. It's gotta be a wall decoration."  
  
The corridor ended in a brass door, unlocked. It was decorated with scenes of gory  
executions, and at the side ran the words "Thus perish all the Parech's enemies!"  
in a twisted script. The door creaked loudly as she pushed it open but nothing  
stirred inside.  
The call "Daughter!" came stronger than ever from across the room.  
  
The room was originally huge but heaps of sand and broken masonry had choked  
off most of it. She crossed the room to the far end, where a dead figure sat on the  
throne. It was desiccated as a mummy and its right hand was clutching a tall spear  
that glowed with an evil red light.  
  
"This must be the emperor the legend spoke of, who tried to kill Mother with that  
spear and ended up entombed in his own palace," April said aloud. Feeling queasy,  
she walked up to the corpse.  
  
"Sorry, Parech guy, but I need that Spear more than you do."  
  
Suddenly its eyes opened and its withered hand grasped at her wrist! She screamed,  
jumped back, and dropped the lantern, which went out. The only light remaining  
in the room was the blood red light of the spear.  
  
"So you're the daughter of the White Dragon!" croaked the creature, "At last  
you've come to me!"  
  
"Wha-what!? You're alive!?" gasped April.  
  
"Yes, with the life-force drained from your mother, trapped in the spear. It has  
kept me alive all these years, though I couldn't get out. But you got in, and you'll  
lead me out, won't you my darling?" The eyes that stared at her were mad.  
  
April decided to keep him talking while she tried to think how to get out of this.  
  
"Y-you mean, that the Silver Spear of Gorimon drains life from dragons?"  
  
"Yes, my darling. I quarreled with her about your hand in marriage. She would not  
relent. Actually I planned to kill her anyway so that her life force would be mine. I  
had my sorcerer Aos enchant this spear, made of the silver of Mt. Tireney in the  
North. It traps the life force of dragons so they may be slain. Your mother died, did  
she not?"  
  
April debated lying, but decided to stick to the truth. "Yes, eventually."  
  
"Heh heh heh. Good. Dragons are immortal otherwise. But I have her life now...  
heh heh heh.. and I will live for ages of ages."  
  
"What do you want from me?"  
  
"As I said, I want to make you my queen. Together we shall revive the Bakshevan  
Empire and rule forever!"  
  
"You haven't looked outside recently, have you? Your 'empire' is a dust bowl!"  
  
"Then we will conquer another empire together, my darling. What do you say to  
ruling Ge'en, or the Northlands? Nay, we will conquer all of Arcadia in time!"  
  
"What if I say no, I won't play Bride of the Zombie?"  
  
"You have no choice. You will yield to me or die. If you trust to your own  
immortality to keep you safe, remember that I hold in my hand the one thing that  
can kill you. If you try to run, know that this spear is enchanted with a sure-aim  
spell that will guide the weakest throw straight to its target."  
  
"Me? I'm not immortal!"  
  
"You lie. Nothing can kill you, but the Silver Spear of Gorimon can and will if you  
refuse me. Be reasonable. Come, I smell water about you. Give me it, my darling,  
for I have had nothing to drink here all these years, and my thirst is a constant  
torment. Only the Spear has kept me alive. Only the Spear."  
  
April got out the water bottle, but in the darkness she was able to slip in the  
sleep-root that she was given in the Banda tunnel. "I hope this works, I hope this  
works," she thought.  
  
The monster drank deeply of the water. "AAAAH! I have never tasted water so  
sweet! When I have enough fluid in me, I will possess you in love as I have longed  
to do all these years, my darling. Your beauty is all I hoped for."  
  
"If he touches me I'm going to be sick," thought April.  
  
"The empire will rise again, and I will ruuule foreverrrr..." said the Parech,  
slumping forwards in sleep.  
  
April had to have the spear but it had been clutched so tightly for so long that now  
it was practically welded to his skin. If she pulled too hard he might wake up. But  
the broken lantern at her feet gave her an idea. It was full of oil. She dipped it up in  
her hand, and carefully lubricated around the spear handle, moving slowly and  
cautiously. Yes!  
Now the spear came free. And when the end of the handle left the Parech's hand,  
he instantly crumbled into dust!  
  
Now that it was over the shock hit her, and April dropped the Spear and was  
violently sick.  



	6. Draic Kin

Part VI. Draic Kin  
  
When she picked up the spear again the voice that had been calling to her became  
clear in her mind.  
  
"Daughter!"  
  
"Mother, is that you?"  
  
"Only a piece of your Mother's essence, captured by the curse of this spear. It  
greatly hastened her death. I see in your mind that you witnessed her passing."  
  
"Yes. Is it true that you can help the new White Mother to mature?"  
  
"True, my daughter." Was there a little chuckle in her voice at this?  
  
"Do you know where to find my baby sister? We need to help her grow so that she  
can tilt the odds away from Chaos in the War of the Balance."  
  
"Sister? You have no sister. The Mother laid only one egg in recent years, when  
she had a strong premonition of her own passing, so that there would be one to  
carry on."  
  
"But I do have a sister! I watched her hatch myself!"  
  
"I see it in your mind. But you did not know? Your Mother called you to Shift back  
in time. You saved your own egg and witnessed your own hatching!"  
  
"No!! Really? Then the Mother who is to grow up, is... me?"  
  
"Yes, my daughter."  
  
"The baby dragon who hatched called me sister. I heard her in my mind."  
  
"It is a friendly greeting from one Mother to another. In this, case from a Mother  
to her older self."  
  
"The Mother promised to watch over and protect me. How could she when she  
was... gone? And she said she was sorry not to see her children grow up."  
  
"It was her spirit in you she meant, leading you to wise and courageous choices.  
The Mother spirit is passed on from one generation to the next when the old  
Mother dies. The other children are your elder brothers Cortez the Red and  
McAllen the Green. The Draic Kin of Earth are all one family. Blue is the Father,  
White the Mother, and you three are their children."  
  
"How did I get to Stark?"  
  
"Your Mother sensed you were a Shifter with a destiny in both worlds. Soon after  
your hatching her spirit urged you to Shift to Stark. Cortez the Red helped you take  
the form of a human infant and arranged for your adoption. Soon the memory of  
your heritage was as a forgotten dream to you."  
  
"One more thing. The Parech said the Draic Kin are immortal, that nothing can  
kill them but something like the Spear?"  
  
"Not truly immortal, though to humans it may seem so. After a few of what  
humans call eons, even Draic Kin pass away. That is why we need the capacity to  
have eggs."  
  
"I'll live for... eons?"  
  
"I see sadness in your heart, daughter. Why?"  
  
"It's just that Charlie..."  
  
"You have formed an attachment for a mortal man. It will be a sad thing for you to  
see him age and die while you go on."  
  
"You're damn right it will! This is worse than when I thought I would be the  
Guardian. Then I knew my friends would die of old age and I'd never see them  
again, but this way I'll be here watching them go!"  
  
The words of an old ballad came to April's mind. "Dragons live forever, but not so  
little boys..." Tears came to her eyes, but she blinked them back. There was no  
time for regrets over what couldn't be helped.  
  
"All right, let's do this. There's a War of the Balance to be fought. What do I need  
to do?"  
  
"First let us get out of this accursed place. Then I can show you how to assume  
your true form."  
  
With the Spear to light the way April retraced the way outside. A soft rain had  
begun and grass and flowers were beginning to grow. "The curse must be lifting,"  
thought April.  
  
"Now you must have the courage to be who you are," said her Mother's essence.  
  
"Be who I am? Who am I?"  
  
"You know deep within - a Draic Kin, the White Mother. You have power and you  
must own it. Do not regret who you are or you will block your power."  
  
April forced her mind to concentrate, to stop thinking about Charlie and focus. "I  
am April Ryan and I am a Draic Kin. I AM a Draic Kin. I am a DRAIC KIN!" She  
held tight to the to spear and there was a surge of energy throughout her whole  
being. In a brilliant flash of light her form changed to a blazingly white winged  
Draic Kin. She spread her wings and ascended, twirled in the air, and let out a burst  
of electric plasma like a white flame. This was power! This was joy!  
  
Like a streak she flew north, electricity flashing around her, the spear still clutched  
in her claw. In no time she was in the sky above the city of Marcuria.  
  
Her voice was loud and strong. "This city is under my protection! Leave Marcuria  
alone! Flee back to Tyren or face the wrath of the Mother!" Diving and flaming,  
she terrorized the attackers. They ran like rabbits. They streamed out of the city,  
dropping everything they had looted. Tyren and Shifter agents alike panicked and  
fled from her. April laughed in triumph.  
  
She flew down to the cliff side to see how Brian Westhouse was doing. Her  
laughter died when she saw he had made his last stand. He lay dead on his porch,  
his gun in one hand and his flask in the other. Around him lay about twenty Tyren  
he had taken with him.  
  
"Goodbye, Brian. I'll miss you. I'm sorry I wasn't ready sooner."  
  
Next she flew over to the Minstrum Enclave. It didn't look any better. She could  
see Minstrum Yerin, the old librarian, fallen at one of the apertures of the Enclave.  
He had been shot with a blaster, but from the blackened corpses of the Tyren  
littering the area it seemed he had gotten off a good number of fireballs first.  
  
She flew around the Enclave calling "You can come out now, it's safe!" But there  
were no signs of life. She sobbed. War was real and it was ugly. She flew back over  
the city, looking for survivors.  
  
Suddenly there was a black flash, a crackling, and the Chaos Vortex appeared in  
her path, a roiling mass of black energy and smoke. She'd destroyed it! How could  
it be here? At the same moment, parts of the city of Newport began to flash in and  
out of reality, replacing parts of Marcuria. The worlds were being forced together.  
Something had gone horribly wrong with the Guardian!  
  
The Vortex came at her. With a cry of rage she flamed and clawed at it. Here was  
something she could fight to avenge the deaths of Brian Westhouse, Minstrum  
Yerin, and Vestrum Tobias! Its touch was agonizing, like liquid fire. She beat it  
back for a moment, but it seemed unharmed. In fact, it seemed to feed on her rage.  
She thought a moment.  
  
"It's hard to remember you're the emotional half of Gordon Halloway. Fighting  
you won't help put you back where you belong, with him."   
  
April had been to the Tower of Balance before and she now felt confident that she  
could Shift there. She would find out what was wrong and deal with the problem at  
its source. This was the most difficult Shift she had ever attempted. Something  
was opposing her entrance to the Tower. It was like walking through walls of force,  
each harder than the last. If it were not for her new power and confidence she  
would have been lost between worlds. But she persevered and broke through to the  
Tower, once again in human form.  
  



	7. Sacrifice

Part VII. Sacrifice   
  
Gordon Halloway, the 13th Guardian, was suspended in on the Throne of Balance  
with the light of the Balance cascading through his body. All seemed as it should  
be, but April could sense in her guts that something was wrong. It was colder than  
ever. The ozone smell in the air was strong. Lightening and earthquakes rocked  
the Tower. The twin beams of logic and magic were coming together towards the  
vertical. When they joined, the worlds would be forced together again.  
  
She approached the rotating wheel of order and chaos, in the center of which was  
the World Disc. If she touched it she could perhaps communicate with Gordon's  
mind. As she reached for it, there was a crackle of intense energy. She jumped  
back.  
  
"You are too late, Shifter," spoke the flat voice of Gordon Halloway from all  
around her. "My Master, McAllan, programmed his instructions deep into me  
when he split me in two. Within the Disc your work of joining has been undone. I  
am now free to carry out his instructions. You cannot stop me from completing  
the reunification. When the worlds join I will make it all as he wishes, with Jacob  
McAllen and the Vanguard ruling forever."  
  
"I can't let you do that. His rule will be so corrupt it will unleash Chaos and drag  
everyone down. That's what almost happened before, why they split the worlds in  
the first place!"  
  
"McAllen doesn't care if the pathetic human race is engulfed by Chaos. And for  
me it's irrelevant. I have no emotions to get in the way of doing what he wishes,  
regardless of the consequences."  
  
April raised the Silver Spear of Gorimon.  
  
"You can't harm my astral self with a weapon like that, Shifter" said Halloway's  
cold mental voice. "And don't think you can kill my body either, even in your  
grown Kin form. No magical or physical force can touch the Guardian while he  
holds the Balance."  
  
April asked, "How could you be free of the Disc? I thought the Guardian's soul was  
in cold storage here for a thousand years."  
  
"The Master placed hidden spells on me. He revived after his battle with the Red  
and called upon the deep-laid spells and I was able to divide from my chaotic  
emotional self. The Chaos Vortex was also free again. From here it could reach  
any place. I sent it into the War of the Balance against you."  
  
"It didn't stop me."  
  
"No matter. There is no way McAllen's plan can be thwarted. You must simply  
give in and join him. This is the dawn of a new Age of Dragons."  
  
The essence of the Mother spoke through the Spear to April's mind. "There is a  
way, if you are willing to make a great sacrifice. If you cut yourself with the tip of  
the Spear, let it drain your essence, and then cast it into the center of the disc, our  
two essences will be able to enter the disk and drive out the influence of the Green.  
But it will cost you much of your Draic Kin power and longevity. You will live only  
as long as a human."  
  
April hesitated for a moment. What was she going to be? She'd had a taste of the  
power of a full Draic Kin. It was intoxicating, wonderful, and it could go on and on.  
But even for a Draic Kin life wouldn't be pleasant under the rule of the Green. For  
the human race, for the people she cared about, it would be sheer hell.  
  
"All right," said April in her mind, "I'll do it!"  
  
In an instant, April poked the tip of the Spear into her left index finger. There was  
a ripping sensation as part of her essential being was pulled into the cursed  
weapon. Now she was in two places at once - April Ryan standing, and the White  
of the Draic Kin in the spear.  
  
"What are you doing?" demanded Holloway. "Vortex, stop her!" The Chaos  
Vortex appeared and rushed at her once again.  
  
April managed to throw the spear shakily towards the disk. The true-aim spell  
made it fly right to the center. The two immortal essences flowed into the stone.  
April experienced the brief but terrible conflict as the Mother and the Daughter  
fought the power of Jacob McAllen. It was a fiery, clawing fight of three Dragons,  
all in a mental realm. The physical April slumped to the floor, eyes shut tight in  
concentration.  
  
At last the two Kin prevailed over the one. With a terrific scream the two divided  
parts of Halloway's soul were pulled back into the disc once more and united. Now  
the two looked to the Guardian. The twin beams of logic and chaos were nearly  
joined now in a single vertical beam.  
  
"It's too late to stop the merger, isn't it? If we try, the Balance will be torn apart,"  
said April's essence.  
  
"Yes, but we can help the Guardian to ease the worlds together," said the Mother's  
essence.  
  
"So this is how I'll fulfill the prophecy about ending the world. It's the end of two  
old worlds and the beginning of a new."  
  
Together the two of them reached out to help the Guardian. Gently they made  
alterations in the joined world that would allow magic to be used with the order  
and disciple of the best of science, and science to be used with the humanity and  
emotion of the best of magic. Those who abused science or magic, be they  
corporation bureaucrat or twisted alchemist, would find that it would not serve  
them.  
  
There was a brilliant light all around. The world seemed to spin around her in  
every direction and then slowly it came to rest.  
  



	8. Together

Part VIII. Together  
  
April opened her eyes. The tower and its world were gone. In its place was a realm  
of rosy light with a large disc for a floor, like the floor of the Sentinel Enclave. At  
the four cardinal points were the Draic Kin in human form. North was April; east  
was Cortez. West was Jacob McAllen, unconscious from the backlash of his  
mental battle. South was a tall man with a long black beard, whom April had never  
seen before, but whom she knew was the Blue of the Kin in human guise. In the  
center was Gordon Halloway, his sane self once again, but dazed.  
  
"When the time comes for the worlds to be united, the Kin will gather together  
one last time," said Cortez with a smile.  
  
"Cortez! You're OK!" gasped April.  
  
"Si, senorita. McAllen and I had weakened each other so much we both shut down  
almost to nada, unable to hold physical shape. We gradually revived. I had taken  
the worst of the battle and I was still too weak to stop him, but you have prevailed."  
  
Blue spoke in a rumbling voice, "The Day of Ascension has come. We have  
meddled in the affairs of mortals long enough. The world is now whole and ready  
for their use. We shall return to the stars. I will become the vessel to transport us  
to the home world. Our siblings the Maerum and Alatiens will come with us as we  
promised them. New White of the Kin, you must come with us as well."  
  
"I think I'd rather stay here, " said April. "This is the world I know. My friends are  
here, everyone I care about, even old Crow. I'd miss them. Besides, I've lost my  
'immortality', so I wouldn't be able to keep you company for long, would I?"  
  
"What? This means the loss of a Mother, a terrible tragedy," said Blue. "It is most  
unfortunate you will not have time to mature sexually as a Draic Kin, or we could  
find a mate for you on the home world, and you could lay your egg in time."  
  
"Really, I don't need you to do that," said April, blushing. "I'd much rather stay  
here."  
  
"You are right, you should remain near here," said Cortez. "This place in which we  
stand holds the essences of your Mother and yourself. The world is the disk and  
the disk is the world. Come here often to refresh your spirit, and you should have a  
long and full life, humanly speaking. And from here you may venture out to any  
place and time you like. Like the Guardian's Realm, this place is outside of all  
worlds."  
  
"It feels like a big piece of me is here. I've lost part of myself and I think the pain  
of that will be with me forever. Do you think I could I build a home here? I'd like  
that," said April.  
  
"Si, no problemo," said Cortez. He gestured into the air and a cottage sprang into  
being around them.  
  
"Hey, I've seen this place before!" said April. "It's the House of all Worlds. Where  
I met Lady Alvane..." she trailed off, realizing.  
  
"Better make a note in your diary, senorita. The day will come when the April  
Ryan of the past will need a refuge. Remember to leave a door open for her."  
  
"I guess I should fix a few things for her, like the patched rubber duck and the gold  
ring under the couch, huh?"  
  
"It might be wise," said Cortez with a grin.  
  
The Draic Kin took their leave, with Cortez and the Blue supporting McAllen  
between them.  
  
"I-I'll miss you, Cortez. You've been a good friend, a good... brother." She gave  
him a big hug.  
  
"Vaya con Dios, hermana. Remember there are the voices that whisper, voices you  
can trust. Our voices will still reach you here."  
  
After they had gone, April turned to Halloway, who had been staring in stupefied  
silence at the gathering of the Kin.  
  
"C'mon, Gordon. Let's go look at the brave new world we made."   
  
With a thought the door of the cottage linked to Marcuria/Newport. It was  
something like Venice, something like Marcuria, and something like Newport with  
a good scrubbing. The air and water were clean, and the sun was bright. People and  
magical creatures were wandering around, amazed and confused. In an open  
square, two vendors were setting up shop.  
  
"Maps! More or less still good, going cheap! The worlds have been joined just as  
the Vanguard promised us, and progress will abound! Maps!"  
  
"Come one, come all! Try your skill at a game of cups! The hand is quicker than  
the eye. Try your skill and win a prize! I'll accept anything of value you want to  
lose, er, barter!"  
  
"Thank you for all you've done for me, April," said Gordon Halloway, "I've got to  
try to find my relatives now. They haven't heard from me in years, ever since I was  
kidnapped by the Vanguard."  
  
"All right Gordon, take care. I'm glad you didn't have to stay in that dead-end job  
1000 years."  
  
"I hope the Border House is here, or something like it," thought April. With a  
good idea of the layout of both cities April was finally able to locate it. There were  
real plants growing around the walls where the mural had been. Charlie was sitting  
on the park bench in front. April ran up and hugged him.  
  
"Guess what, Charlie! I'm human. I'm going to grow old and I'm going to die!"  
  
"Hey, why so morbid, April?"  
  
"I'm not. It's something I'm learning to accept. I'll tell you the whole story later."  
She kissed him.  
  
"By the way, Charlie, I'm changing my name in case there's remnants of my police  
reports around. I think the bad guys are going to be disrupted for a real long time,  
but I can't be too careful. Call me... Alvane Drake, OK?"  
  
"Um, Alvane, I bet you know something about this change that's happened," said  
Charlie. "It's good, I think, but I'm worried. How are people going to cope with the  
changes?"  
  
"I know a lot about it. I think I should travel around for a while as a teacher and  
storyteller, to set the record straight and help people adapt. I have a way to go any  
place in the world I want to; it's a house with a front door on anywhere. Like to see  
it? I think it's big enough for three."  
  
"Three? You mean..."  
  
"Not what you think. I have an old friend I don't want to leave behind again." She  
got out her flute and blew the calling notes.  
  
Suddenly there was a rustle of feathers and Crow landed on her shoulder.  
  
"I'm glad you finally remembered me," said Crow. "You still owe me a year's  
flea-plucking, you know."  
  
"I'm happy to do it, old friend," said Alvane.  
  
Epilogue  
  
---------  
Lady Alvane's Diary: August 6, 2289  
  
I've been reading the old diary I kept way back then. I've decided that today is the  
day I'll open my door to young April Ryan and give her the benefit of my "mystic  
wisdom" (ha-ha). I'll tell her to trust her friends and herself, all the things I heard  
so long ago that I now know are true. I could have opened that door any day these  
last few years, but I've decided on today, eighty years from the day it happened. I  
did the other little errands for her when I was younger, but I've been saving that  
day we talked to now.  
  
I've outlived Charlie by 13 years, but I've been all right. With a dragon's longevity  
I would have had to keep losing all my friends over and over, or give up on human  
company altogether, like Blue. I have many old friends and young students to fill  
my life. Two different species couldn't have children together, but we adopted  
Patrick and Beth, both wonderful children. And Crow's been my faithful friend all  
these years. What a character! We've been on many adventures together.  
  
The new world hasn't been perfect, of course. There have been plenty of problems,  
human nature being what it is. But it has worked out well enough, better than what  
Stark or Arcadia by itself could have done.  
  
So today I'll give my regards to the young April Ryan: so tough, so innocent, so  
vulnerable, and so unsure of herself. Poor thing! Not really. I love her as she was,  
too.  
--------  
  
The End   



End file.
